Articles

Valve brings Dota Plus: ‘An Evolution of the Majors Battle Pass’

POSTED BY Caisam Yvez Nopueto ON March 13, 2018

As an upgrade to the previous Battle Passes, Valve brought in a whole new level of player experience: Dota Plus, a subscription based program for Dota 2, brings in a whole new level of features including Hero Progression, Plus Perks, and the Plus Assistant.

Players can sign up for the Dota Plus subscription for USD 3.99 per month. Signing up for longer periods of time allows players to save up — 6% off for 6 months, and 12% off for 12 months.

Dota Plus subscribers will have their performance on heroes tracked via “Hero Progression” feature. The said feature includes stat-tracking Hero Relics, Hero Chatwheel Lines, Hero-specific Challenges, Weekly rewards, and the Hero Leveling Feature. Stat-tracking Hero Relics are hero specific — for example, 10,000 Multi-hero Concotions on Alchemist. Other features are hero-specific as well, such as Witch Doctor having access to Hero Chatwheel Line “Feeling Good Man” at Hero Progression Level 1.

“As your hero level advances, you’ll unlock new tiers of hero level badges,” reads the update through Dota2.com. “Each level grants Reward Shards, and each tier grants new Hero Chat Wheel responses. Just play a single game with a hero to unlock the first of your progression rewards.”

Perhaps the biggest update for Dota 2 from beginner level to intermediate (and even the top players) is the Plus Assistant. “Plus Assistant offers real-time item and ability suggestions—generated from data gathered across millions of recent games at each skill bracket—to keep you up-to-date on the latest trends. Whether you need advice on which hero best fits a draft, or aren’t sure what to build after securing that coveted Blink Dagger, Plus Assistant is in your corner,” says Valve.

Plus Assistant, when selected by the user, gives Item Suggestions, Ability Suggestions, and even Laning Suggestions. These suggestions are based on data gathered by the Dota 2 client. For example, the Plus Assistant will recommend getting the first skill of Witch Doctor, because 70+% of the players playing in the skill bracket does so.

Plus Assistant also brings in the Death Summary, a second-by-second timeline of incoming damage, disabling effects, and even the types of damage from each source when a hero dies. “You’ll have a complete breakdown of damage types and sources, available in real time whether you’re a spectator trying to make sense of a brain-melting teamfight or a respawning player learning how to avoid a recurring fate,” mentioned Valve.

Other features such as Post-game Analytics, which reveals intricate details such as how much damage each hero dealt to all other heroes, and Global Rank Trends, which compares how a user performs with any other hero, are also included.